We have published two independent reports today outlining responses to our Start Well public consultation about the future of maternity, neonatal, and children’s surgery services across North Central London (NCL). The reports and summary versions are available to read here.
Consultation Overview
Together with NHS England Specialised Commissioning, we launched a 14-week consultation in December 2023 to gather detailed feedback and opinions about proposed changes to how services could operate in the future. Our ambition is to improve service quality for all local people, ensuring children receive the very best start in life. We know that getting this right will positively impact health and wellbeing throughout life.
We aim to achieve this within the context of the changing and increasing complexity of our population’s health needs and a declining birth rate. Our goal is to design services that can consistently meet best practice clinical guidance, are sustainable long-term, and provide the best working environment for staff.
Proposals Under Consultation
The consultation sought opinions on several proposals for maternity, neonatal, and children’s surgical services, and asked what impact these could have on local people. These proposals were informed by extensive engagement with doctors, midwives, nurses, health professionals, and families with experience of using these services. The three main proposals put forward were:
- Consolidation of Maternity and Neonatal Services
The first proposal suggested reducing the number of maternity and neonatal units from five to four. Each of these four sites would be required to deliver a minimum of Level 2 neonatal care to maintain expertise, clinical quality standards, and staffing levels. - Edgware Birth Centre
The second proposal focused on retaining antenatal and postnatal care at Edgware Birth Centre while closing its birthing suites. - Consolidation of Children’s Surgery
The third proposal suggested consolidating children’s surgeries for babies and young children in specialised centres such as Great Ormond Street Hospital and UCLH.
Consultation Engagement and Feedback
The consultation ran from 11 December 2023 to 17 March 2024, during which we received significant engagement from staff, stakeholders, and the public. The feedback included:
- 3,112 questionnaire responses:
- 2,031 from members of the public
- 1,060 from NHS staff
- 21 from organisations
- 79 written responses
- 199 meetings or events, reaching just under 3,400 people
The views of thousands of staff, organisations, and members of the public have now been analysed by independent consultancy ORS, and their findings were published today.
Jo Sauvage, Chief Medical Officer for North Central London ICB, said:
“We thank everyone who shared their views with us. The huge amount of engagement we had from the public and staff shows how deeply people care about these services. Our thanks to ORS for producing such a robust and thorough independent review of all the consultation feedback. We will now reflect on what we have heard, as well as other evidence, as we work towards making a final decision early next year. In the meantime, all services continue to operate as normal. It is vital that we deliver the right services, to the highest of standards, in the right places.”
Will Huxter, Regional Director of Commissioning at NHS England London, added:
“It’s an important step forward to have received the final report from ORS. We believe this continues to be a robust and comprehensive process, which is important, and the depth and breadth of feedback and input is extremely valuable. We will only be able to make the right long-term decisions about these key services on a strong base of evidence, consultation, and engagement. We will take account of the issues raised as we move forward with the next steps.”
Next Steps
The consultation feedback will now be used to assess whether any of the issues or concerns raised mean that the proposals and preferred option need to change. A decision-making business case will subsequently be produced to inform decisions by the North Central London ICB board and specialised commissioners from NHS England London, with a decision expected in early 2025.
Until then, all services will continue to operate as usual.
For more information, please read the full reports and summaries available on our website.